Interesting People mailing list archives
SETI for law enforcement
From: David Farber <dave () farber net>
Date: Wed, 30 Mar 2005 07:31:04 -0500
------ Forwarded Message From: "Stephen T. Middlebrook" <Stephen.Middlebrook () FMS TREAS GOV> Reply-To: Law & Policy of Computer Communications <CYBERIA-L () LISTSERV AOL COM> Date: Mon, 28 Mar 2005 10:01:48 -0500 To: <CYBERIA-L () LISTSERV AOL COM> Subject: [CYBERIA] SETI for law enforcement Today's Washington Post has a really interesting story about how the Secret Service has linked a number of its desktop computers to work together in a distributed manner to help crack encryption schemes used by criminals. The system works a bit like SETI. The article also explains how difficult it is to break encryption with just brute force and so the Service scans hard drives and web sites visited etc for keywords to use as a dictionary in the attack. DNA Key to Decoding Human Factor Secret Service's Distributed Computing Project Aimed at Decoding Encrypted Evidence "Taking a cue from scientists searching for signs of extraterrestrial life and mathematicians trying to identify very large prime numbers, the agency best known for protecting presidents and other high officials is tying together its employees' desktop computers in a network designed to crack passwords that alleged criminals have used to scramble evidence of their crimes -- everything from lists of stolen credit card numbers and Social Security numbers to records of bank transfers and e-mail communications with victims and accomplices. "To date, the Secret Service has linked 4,000 of its employees' computers into the "Distributed Networking Attack" program. The effort started nearly three years ago to battle a surge in the number of cases in which savvy computer criminals have used commercial or free encryption software to safeguard stolen financial information, according to DNA program manager Al Lewis." Full article at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A6098-2005Mar28.html stm ********************************************************************** For Listserv Instructions, see http://www.lawlists.net/cyberia Off-Topic threads: http://www.lawlists.net/mailman/listinfo/cyberia-ot Need more help? Send mail to: Cyberia-L-Request () listserv aol com ********************************************************************** ------ End of Forwarded Message ------------------------------------- You are subscribed as lists-ip () insecure org To manage your subscription, go to http://v2.listbox.com/member/?listname=ip Archives at: http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/
Current thread:
- SETI for law enforcement David Farber (Mar 30)